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| Image: Flickr User - Andrey Korchagin |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
Beijing is using rail mobility to deploy one of its deadliest weapons.
On December 5, China conducted a launcher test of a new rail-mobile version of its newest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the DF-41 (CSS-X-20), IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly reports.
A DF-41 also underwent a flight test on the previous day (December 4) the publication states based on information obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The launch of the DF-41 likely took place at the Wuzhai missile test center in central China’s Shanxi Province.
The December 5 test involved a ‘cold launch’ of a DF-41 from a canister with a gas charge without the engine of the missile being ignited. In a full test, the missile’s engine would ignite microseconds after exiting the launch tube.
China’s Defense Ministry confirmed at the end of December that the tests took place without going into details. “Scientific tests within the Chinese territory are conducted according to plan,” Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Yang Yujun said at a press conference.
Read the full story at The Diplomat